Merric Cale
History Merric Cale was born on Coruscant to a lower class family. His family was extremely poor and lived largely in slums and refugee camps set up in the aftermath of the Skulblakan invasion. When he was seven months old, he displayed great force potential, causing his parents to contact the Jedi Order, hoping that the Jedi could give him a better life than they were able to, given their poverty and status. Merric was taken in and spent much of his childhood as a Jedi youngling. From a young age, he showed great talent in using his abilities for combative purposes, particularly in the way of the lightsaber. It was because his talents lay in combat that he was largely avoided by masters looking for apprentices. At the age of twelve, Merric had largely given up hope about ever finding a master, until a tournament was set up as a way of showing the padawans and their abilities for masters. Merric joined the tournament and won decisively. Still, no masters seemed to show any interest in claiming him as their padawan, until Merric left the sparring arena and was met by Luke Skywalker and Vitor Rogan. He was then informed that Vitor had shown an interest in training the boy, but Vitor was not a Jedi, and such training would require Merric's departure from the Order. After some thought Merric left the Jedi Order to train with Vitor. Despite his departure from the order, Merric and Vitor remained in the Jedi temple for his training, as Vitor was remaining on Coruscant, trying to recruit members for his organization, the Dawn Crusaders. This allowed Merric to still see some of his apprentice friends from time to time, and have access to the high-quality training facilities of the temple. They remained on Coruscant until Vitor finally gave up on recruiting from Coruscant, when Merric was seventeen, and they traveled to Earth. When Vitor went to meet with old friends Caden Ferran and Clara Renner, Merric went into their backyard and met the fifteen year old Keryn Renner, Caden and Clara's daughter. After witnessing her training, he suggested a sparring match between the two, something she eagerly agreed to. The two dueled, both shocked to find an equal in their opponent, and after nearly half an hour, they agreed it would be a draw. This didn't stop them from attempting to rematch one another in the future, though the duel never came into fruition. Afterwards, the two developed a strong bond that some began to call Merric Caden and Clara's future son in law. Personality and Traits Merric is described as being somewhat over-dramatic and theatrical, something he finds amusing and openly embraces and plays up. Many consider him to have an arrogant air about himself due to this, which he mocks, to their annoyance. Similar to his friend Keryn Renner, he is known to have an honest enjoyment of being in battle, though not to the same extent as her. His master, Vitor Rogan, was worried by this, and often attempted to show Merric other ways of seeking enjoyment in life. This primarily resulted in his apprentice gaining an enjoyment for women and wine, though he never truly committed to either When he isn't behaving over-the-top and theatrical, Merric shows levels of desperation to keep Vitor happy, as he believes Vitor to be the only one who ever cared about him enough to show him the ways of the force. This trait also can be seen with his close friends, and he cannot bear to infuriate them for fear of losing them. He keeps his quick tongue, however, something he says no man can truly rob him of, even if they cut it out. Merric's Teevan heritage gives his skin a slight silvery hue, and makes him extraordinarily flexible. Combat Abilities Merric, from an early age, displayed great prowess in combat of most forms. His talent with a lightsaber was great by the age of twelve, and he primarily fought using a single, red-bladed lightsaber, an unusual choice for a Jedi. Through this weapon, he uses Makashi, Soresu, Ataru, and Djem-So primarily, and is a master of Sokan, a style involving use of the environment. His dramatic and theatrical personality reflect on his fighting style, and he uses this theatricality to deceive and trick his foes into believing he will do one thing while instead resorting to another. While his saber talents are grand, his force abilities have been only referred to as on-par. He specializes in using force grips, pushes, and repulses, as well as saber throws and battle meditation. Despite this, his healing, sensory, and other, more peaceful powers elude his ability to master them. Some say his preference for the saber is the cause of this, while others claim it to be his lack of focus. Merric, being Teevan, has great flexibility naturally, something many humans gawk at. He uses this to his advantage in battle, pulling off techniques many consider impossible for the average Jedi Knight.